Inner Child
by Randomizer
Summary: Buffy has been turned into a four year old, and Angel must take care of her until the situation can be fixed. Correct version of Ch. 10 added.
1. Default Chapter

Rating: PG-13 at most.  
  
Disclaimer: Characters you recognize aren't mine. The plot  
isn't even really mine, and neither is the title. Both come  
from a challenge:  
Inner Child (issued by Victoria)  
  
Somehow, Buffy is turned into a little child (three or four years   
old). The Sunnydale gang try to turn her back to an adult but fail.   
They bring her to Angel. Any rating goes.   
  
Set in October of S5/S2. Back when Angel wasn't a dork and   
Cordelia was more bitch than saint. Remember those good old days?   
BTW, Dawn doesn't exist.  
  
  
  
  
It was early afternoon at the Hyperion Hotel, and Angel had been  
awake for only a short time when he heard Cordelia's voice,  
sounding more shrill and harried than usual, calling him from  
downstairs. "Angel! You have to come and see this now!"  
  
"Coming!" Angel called back, hurrying to the stairs and jogging  
down them. Halfway down, he looked up and spotted Willow and  
Xander in the lobby with Cordelia. Taking the remainder of the  
steps in one leap, Angel landed in front of Willow and demanded,  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Shhh!" Xander indicated a nearby chair, where a little blonde  
girl who looked about four years old was curled up asleep.  
  
Not even bothering to consider WHY the girl might be there,  
Angel lowered his voice slightly in deference to the sleeping  
child and again demanded, "What it is? Something must be wrong!  
Why else would you two be here?"  
  
For a few seconds no one spoke. Willow looked away. Cordelia  
smirked. Then Xander blurted, "It's Buffy. She's ..."  
  
Horrible images shot through Angel's mind. But surely he would  
have sensed if Buffy had died! "She what? What happened to her?"  
  
"Don't you see?" Cordelia interjected.  
  
"See what?" Angel looked from one face to another and remained  
clueless. "WHAT? Tell me what happened to Buffy!"  
  
Xander pointed at the sleeping girl. "SHE is Buffy."  
  
"That can't be her. It's a little kid," Angel pointed out.  
  
Willow blushed and finally spoke. "That's the problem. I was  
performing a spell to temporarily give Buffy super speed and I  
accidentally turned her into a child instead."  
  
Cordelia snorted, not bothering to hide her amusement. "I always  
knew you weren't as smart as you pretended to be in high school."  
  
Angel had the terrible impression that it was all true. He  
quietly moved closer to study the sleeping girl's face and  
decided she looked enough like Buffy to convince him. Besides,  
why would Xander and Willow make up a lie that made them look so  
bad? It HAD to be true. And another thing. "Why did you two bring  
Buffy to Los Angeles instead of fixing her?"  
  
"Well, it's like this," Willow began. "Tara's brewing a potion  
that should age Buffy back to normal, but it won't be ready for  
about a month. In the meantime, if Buffy stays in Sunnydale like  
this, she wouldn't be safe. Can you imagine how the demons would  
react if they learned the slayer was a four year old? And they'd  
be bound to find out. They'd hear us talking about it or they'd  
see her and get curious."  
  
"So she has to stay with you for the next month," Xander summarized,  
pointing at Angel.  
  
Cordelia laughed harder than before. "Angel with a four year old  
on his hands? This should be good."  
  
"I can't - but - " Angel protested incoherently.  
  
"Buffy's life is at stake," Willow reminded him, utilizing the  
ultimate argument.  
  
"But if she isn't in Sunnydale, won't everyone wonder where she  
is?"  
  
"We thought of a cover story," Willow replied. "She's supposedly  
away on a slaying retreat. It's plausible."  
  
"What about her mother?" Angel asked. "What does she think of all  
this and why can't she take care of Buffy?"  
  
"Mrs. Summers is on a business trip in New York. She'll be gone  
at least two weeks and we're going to give her the same cover  
story everyone else gets. With any luck, she'll never need to learn  
the truth." Willow looked absolutely determined that Joyce in  
particular would never find out about her screwup.  
  
Angel began to grasp at straws. "I can't take care of a four year  
old! I don't know what to do. One of you has to stay here and  
help."  
  
"Can't," Xander said. "We have to hurry home and take over Buffy's  
slaying for the next month. In fact, we have to go right NOW.  
Goodbye, Angel. We're sure you'll be fine."  
  
"Wait a minute." He placed himself between Xander and the door to  
prevent him from leaving quite yet. "Does Buffy know who I am?  
Does she have all her memories?"  
  
Willow shook her head. "She doesn't know any of us. She only seems  
to know what she did by about age 4. No slaying, no school, nothing  
that happened after that point. Just so she doesn't get warped for  
life by anything that goes on over the next four weeks, though,  
Tara's working on a memory spell that should make her forget  
anything that happens to her during that time."  
  
Xander knelt beside the chair and gently nudged little Buffy awake.  
"Hey, Buffy. Willow and I have to go away now. You're going to stay   
with our good friend Angel for a little while like we talked about   
before. All right?"  
  
Buffy didn't seem to care. She sat up, drew her leg back, and  
sharply kicked Xander in the shin.  
  
"Ow!" Rubbing his leg, Xander quickly got up and retreated. "Good  
luck, Angel."  
  
Willow was right on his heels. Gloomily, Angel watched them exit  
onto the sunny street. Then he looked imploringly at Cordelia.  
"Cordy? Bail me out?"  
  
"Sorry, pal, you're on your own." She smirked and walked away,  
leaving poor Angel alone with the little girl.  
  
He stared at her. She stared back at him. Then: "Are you my new  
daddy?" little Buffy asked.  
  
"No!" Angel exclaimed. "God, no! I'm just a friend. Definitely  
NOT your daddy."  
  
Little Buffy immediately lost interest in him and wandered off  
to explore the lobby. Carefully keeping an eye on her, Angel  
decided, "This situation has Freudian implications I don't even  
want to think about."  
  
TBC 


	2. Ch 2

Angel waited helplessly for Cordelia to return to the lobby. He didn't dare leave Buffy alone. He didn't like the way she was peering into the weapons cases.   
  
Finally, after what felt like an hour but was probably only about five minutes, Cordelia came back into the room. Angel asked her, "Where are Gunn and Wesley?"  
  
"Out on a case. A client came in while you were sleeping."  
  
"Oh." There went the idea of asking one of them to help him. Gunn had had a sister. He probably knew a lot more about how to handle little children than Angel did. It was true that Angel had had a younger sister but that was a very long time ago and he hadn't been her caregiver anyway. "What am I supposed to do with Buffy? Willow and Xander didn't leave anything. No clothes or toys or food or even a list."  
  
He had said the wrong thing within Buffy's hearing. "I'm hungry!" she wailed.  
  
"OK, we'll get you something to eat. Cordy?" Angel stared expectantly at her.  
  
"Don't look at me. I'm not your cook."  
  
"We have to get her food," Angel repeated.  
  
"Correction," Cordelia replied. "YOU do. She's YOUR responsibility. I'm staying out of this mess."  
  
"I'M HUNGRY!" Buffy shouted at the top of her lungs.  
  
Angel winced. "All right, all right, I'll get you something. What do you like?"  
  
"Ice cream!" Buffy yelled, tears streaming down her face. "Cookies!"  
  
Angel looked at Cordelia again. She shook her head. Angel frantically tried to think of whatever food they might have in the kitchen that he had a chance of preparing. "How about eggs? Or vegetables? I think we have vegetables."  
  
Buffy began to turn red. "I don't like them! I'm hungry!"  
  
"Well, it's the middle of the day," Angel pointed out, more for Cordelia's sake than for Buffy's. "If my supposed friends aren't willing to help, I don't have many options. It's not like I can go running off to the store right now."  
  
"So find a place that delivers," Cordelia suggested.  
  
"Delivery?" Angel thought. "Domino's. All their ads say Domino's delivers. Buffy, do you like pizza?" She didn't answer and he turned around to hunt for her. She had wandered back to the weapons cases and was gazing raptly at the longest, shiniest sword of all. At least she'd stopped crying. Rather than risk upsetting her again, Angel consulted with Cordelia. "What do you think?"  
  
"What do I think? I think almost all kids like pizza."  
  
"Great." Angel sighed with relief and grabbed the phone book. He could handle this much.  
  
........  
  
Cordelia had been right. Buffy did like pizza. After finishing her meal, she'd curled up in the middle of the floor to take a nap, which disturbed Angel a little until he figured he could keep an eye on her there and she didn't seem to mind where she was. The longer she slept, the more he allowed himself to relax.   
  
Until the doors burst open and Wesley strode in out of the dusk, wielding a slimy ax. "One nest of havelock demons, all taken care of," he announced.  
  
"Shhh!" Angel hissed, pointing at the sleeping girl.  
  
Wesley lowered his voice. "Who is that? A client's daughter?"  
  
"Unfortunately not." Angel explained quietly about Willow's spell and the reasons Buffy had ended up with him.  
  
"How interesting." Wesley walked forward, studying Buffy like she was a fascinating scientific experiment.  
  
"Don't wake her up," Angel warned. "She's much easier to watch when she's sleeping."  
  
The phone then rang, causing them both to jump. Luckily, Buffy didn't even stir and Cordelia was able to grab the phone before it could sound again. "Hello?" Short pause. "Yeah, Angel's here and Wesley just got back." Longer pause. "Dammit! All right, I'll tell them." She hung up and informed Wesley, "That was Gunn. You know the demons in that nest you went to destroy? You missed a few. Guess where they are right now? You obviously have no clue, so I'll tell you. They're on Easter Street, attacking everything in sight."  
  
Angel and Wesley looked at each other. "I guess we're there too, then." Angel ran over to the weapons cases and selected a few items for himself. "Watch Buffy till I get back, OK, Cordy?" he called as he ran out the door after Wesley.  
  
"I'm not a babysitter!" Cordelia yelled back but it was too late. Angel was gone.   
  
TBC  
  
  
I'll post the next part tomorrow afternoon.  
  
  
Queen Boadicea, sorry to tell you this but this story is a challenge response and one of the requirements includes Spike's presence. I only plan to have him appear in one short part to fulfill that requirement, though, if that helps. 


	3. Shopping

Toting his slimy weapons, Angel dragged himself back inside the hotel. He, Wesley, and Gunn had finished off the last of the demons without too much trouble but he wasn't sure what he'd face back home.   
  
At first glance, matters seemed calm enough. Cordelia was in the lobby locking all the weapons cases and Buffy was watching her. The moment she spotted Angel, though, Buffy rushed up to him and flung her arms around his knees. "Angel! She's mean!"   
  
Angel looked from Buffy's tear-stained cheeks to Cordelia's stern expression.  
"I'm sure Cordelia didn't intend to be mean, did she?"  
  
"Of course I didn't!" Cordelia huffed. "But you know Buffy and I never got along that well even when we were the same age. Why would you think things would be any different now? And her idea of being mean consists of me not letting her play with the pointy objects in the cases YOU forgot to lock when you ran out of here before. That, of course, was after I stopped her from running down the street after a dirty stray mongrel she wanted to adopt. I was actually being helpful since that thing probably would have bitten her if she'd caught it."  
  
"All right, all right." Angel carefully disentangled himself from Buffy and set aside his armful of weapons. "I should have locked up and you were right about the dog. But it couldn't have been all THAT bad, could it?"  
  
Cordelia didn't look at him, but she did remark, "You need to go shopping. Buffy doesn't have any spare clothes or toys or anything at all."  
  
"How do I do that?"  
  
"You drive to the store, and you pick out the things, and you pay for them."  
  
"No, I mean how do I know what to get?" Angel looked at Buffy. What sizes should he get? What colors? There was a reason he wore so much black.  
  
"Take her with you and ask the clerk," Cordelia ordered him.  
  
"OK." Angel looked around for Buffy, who had a habit of wandering away with no notice whatsoever. This time he found her over by the telephone, poking at the buttons. "Buffy, we're going shopping." As he led her away, he remembered something. "Cordy, can you clean those weapons for me?"  
  
She was so relieved to get him and Buffy out of her hair for a while that she didn't even complain.  
  
..........  
  
Twenty minutes later, holding Buffy's hand, Angel stepped inside Kids R Us and immediately was lost. Where to start? What to get?  
  
Fortunately, a saleswoman spotted his confused expression and closed in. "Can I help you?"  
  
"Yes, I need to buy clothes for my-" Angel hesitated. He didn't know quite how to describe Buffy. "For my ward," he ended up saying.  
  
"Claire can help you with that. Wait here." The woman retreated.  
  
Within a minute, an older woman with graying hair came over to Angel. "You wanted some help shopping for your little girl? What do you need?"  
  
"Everything?" The saleswoman gave him a very odd look. Angel covered, "She doesn't have any clothes because there was a fire and it all burnt up. Everything except what she's wearing."  
  
Claire instantly looked sympathetic. "Oh, the poor little thing. I'll take care of her."  
  
Angel trailed behind as the clerk took Buffy by the hand and plowed through the clothing department, loading a cart with all sorts of items. He never would thought to grab half the stuff she did. Eventually, Claire seemed to have decided she'd chosen enough and turned back to Angel. "This should do for a while."  
  
Angel thanked her and took over the cart, leading Buffy toward the checkout lane. The expedition hadn't been as hard as he'd thought it would be. Then Buffy spotted the toy department.   
  
"Look, Angel! Barbie!" She began to tug him toward the aisle.  
  
"Well, all right," Angel decided. He could buy Buffy a couple of toys. She needed to have something fun and if it would help to keep her occupied and out of trouble, it would be well worth the investment.  
  
Only as it turned out, Buffy didn't want just a Barbie. She also wanted the Deluxe Barbie Dreamhouse, Legos, a Tickle Me Elmo, several dolls, and almost a dozen stuffed animals. And that was just for starters. Finally, Angel revolted when Buffy insisted on having something called a Furby. It seemed Cordelia had allowed Buffy to watch some television that evening and she had seen numerous Furby commercials.   
  
"No, Buffy," Angel said firmly. "You have enough toys already. We have to leave."  
  
"But I want the Furby," she said, pawing through the lower shelves on her hunt. "It's a white Furby with blue eyes."  
  
"I said no," Angel repeated, taking her hand and trying to pull her away.  
  
"I want my Furby!" Buffy wailed.   
  
"Shhh!" Angel hissed. He felt like every pair of eyes in the store was trained on them.   
  
Buffy's shrieks grew louder until the word "Furby" was barely distinguishable.  
  
"Fine, here." Angel grabbed the nearest box and stuffed it into her arms. "There's your Furby. You can have it. Just stop crying, please."  
  
Buffy did stop crying. Then she looked at the box and started up again. "He's all wrong!"  
  
"What's wrong with it?" Angel stared at the container. The Furby was white. That was what she had wanted.  
  
"He has brown eyes, not blue," Buffy sobbed.  
  
Angel shrugged. "Close enough."  
  
Not in Buffy's mind. "He has to have blue eyes!" she screamed.   
  
Angel felt accusing eyes burning into him from all directions, as if everyone in the store thought he was torturing a little girl. He hadn't been so embarrassed in ages. Frantically, he turned back to the shelves and shoved aside boxes, digging for the exact color combination Buffy wanted. There was a blue-eyed, white one, but it also had black patches and he wasn't about to repeat his mistake. He shoved it aside and kept looking. After what felt like forever, Angel finally found another white Furby. Thankfully, this one did have blue eyes. "Buffy!" He had to shout so she could hear him above her wails. "Here!"  
  
Buffy accepted the Furby and instantly stopped crying. Taking advantage of her distraction, Angel steered the cart toward the exit and tugged Buffy along behind him. He wanted nothing more than to get out of the store as quickly as possible. Cordelia should have warned him. 


	4. Trouble

"Angel. Angel."  
  
He knew it was too early to get up, so he rolled over and buried his head under the pillow, but the voice came again and this time it was accompanied by a tugging on his arm. "Angel, wake up."  
  
Buffy! Angel remembered with a shock. It had to be her. He'd set her up in the adjoining bedroom, which had a connecting door to his, and blockaded her main door so the only way out was through his room. He sat up so fast the pillow shot off the bed and landed on the floor, right next to the four year old wearing the "Little Mermaid" pajamas he'd let her pick. "What is it? What's wrong?" Angel asked.  
  
"I hafta go to the potty," Buffy informed him.  
  
"You what?"  
  
"I hafta-" Buffy started again.  
  
"Stop! All right, just a minute." Angel instantly got up. It was a good thing he'd thought to wear pajamas himself or young Buffy would getting quite an eyeful. "Stay here," he ordered as he threw on his robe and went over to the door. Cordelia should be downstairs working at this hour. He opened the door and yelled, "Cordy! Help!"  
  
Within 30 seconds, she was up the stairs and in front of him. "What's wrong? You're looking pretty calm for someone who just screeched my name like there was an emergency."  
  
"There IS. Buffy has to go to the bathroom. What am I supposed to do?"  
  
Cordelia huffed an annoyed breath. "Gee, I don't know, maybe TAKE HER THERE?"  
  
"I can't. I don't have a clue what I'm supposed to do. Cordelia, I'll give you a raise if you help out."  
  
Cordelia looked at the piles of toys and clothes scattered around the room and raised an eyebrow. "How will you afford it? It looks like you nearly bought out the store last night."  
  
"I'll take out a loan or something. I'll manage. Just bail me out here. Come on, you can't blame me for having a hard time getting used to the fact that this little girl is my ex-girlfriend, de-aged."  
  
"When you put it like that... A raise, you said? It had better be a big one." Cordelia considered. "All right, I'll do it. And while I'm at it, I suppose you want me to make sure she takes a bath and brushes her teeth? You'd better be thinking Christmas bonus, too. Give me her things."  
  
Angel looked blankly at Cordelia. "What things?"  
  
"Toothbrush, toothpaste, and hairbrush things." Angel didn't answer. Cordelia shook her head. "Oh, don't tell me you didn't pick up any of them."  
  
"You didn't say anything about getting those," he defended himself. "You just said clothes and toys."  
  
"Because I thought the rest was obvious. OK, forget it, I'll figure something out. Come on, Buffy."  
  
Cordelia took Buffy out of the room, and Angel quickly got dressed and ready for the day. It was much earlier than he usually got up, but he thought he'd better not risking annoying Cordelia any more by going back to bed. Then he sorted through the heaps of toys, sure Buffy would like to play with them right away. She'd wanted to start in last night but had been so tired she couldn't keep her eyes open. Finally satisfied, Angel went downstairs to the kitchen, where he dumped a portion of blood into a mug and drained half of it in one gulp.   
  
"What are you drinking, Angel?"   
  
The little voice from behind him made Angel jump. He turned around to see Buffy wearing a cute little blue outfit with flowers on it.   
  
Cordelia stood right behind her. "For future reference, next time Buffy has to go to the bathroom, take her there and wait outside the door. She should be OK by herself. Now I'm going back to work. Have fun!"  
  
Even before Cordelia had left the kitchen, Buffy piped up again. "What's that?" she repeated as she stared at the red liquid in Angel's mug.  
  
He started to say "Blood" automatically and then caught himself and substituted, "A health drink."  
  
"Can I have some?"   
  
Like he was going to let her drink blood. "You wouldn't like it," Angel said.  
  
Buffy's lip quivered and her eyes slowly filled with tears.  
  
Angel tried to steel himself but Buffy was making him feel like a monster again. He managed to hold out until one tear spilled down her cheek and that was too much for him. "Fine, I'll give you a little bit," he said and turned back to the refrigerator. Inside was a small bottle of cranberry juice. As he poured some into a small glass, he hoped the drink looked enough like blood to fool Buffy.  
  
She tasted it and then shoved the glass away. "Yuck!"  
  
"See, I said you wouldn't like it. Next time maybe you'll listen to me."  
  
Angel congratulated himself on his quick thinking when Buffy looked thoughtful. For about a second. Then she announced, "I'm hungry."  
  
"I can't go through this again," Angel decided. "I haven't gone to the store yet and since no one else is helping, we don't have many choices. But we do have leftover pizza, right? Great. That's your breakfast."  
  
Buffy didn't object, so he plopped a couple of pieces of pizza into the microwave and heated them for her. Then, while Buffy was eating, Angel ran back into the lobby to talk to Cordelia. "Where's Wesley? Is Gunn around?"  
  
"Looking for babysitters? Wesley went out for a couple hours and Gunn has some stuff to take care of so he won't be coming in until that's over with."  
  
"Thanks." Angel dashed back to the kitchen, where luckily Buffy had decided to keep eating instead of wandering off. He hoped he could cajole Wesley into helping look after her. One thing he knew about little children, they needed an incredible amount of supervision.   
  
Done eating, Buffy looked around and then decided, "I wanna play outside."  
  
Angel glanced at the windows. It was possibly the sunniest day in a month. "Sorry, but I can't go out. I'm allergic to the sun."  
  
"What's 'lergic?"  
  
"It means I get sick if sunlight touches me. You don't want me to get sick, do you?" Buffy shook her head. Angel went on. "You can have fun playing inside too." He thought of all the toys they'd hauled home last night. No problem there. He'd bought enough to keep Buffy busy for ages.  
  
  
  
Three hours later...  
  
  
"Angel, I'm bored!" a voice proclaimed.  
  
From his chair at the reception desk, Angel looked from the discarded white Furby with blue eyes and the limp Tickle Me Elmo in one corner of the lobby to the Lego buildings and Barbie Dream House in the opposite corner. "How can you be bored? Look at all these toys."  
  
"They're boring," Buffy complained.  
  
"No, they're not." Angel jumped up and went over to the toys. "See, Elmo will laugh if you tickle him, and you can do things with Barbie. Lots of fun things like it says on the box."  
  
Buffy pouted and shook her head.   
  
"I know! You can color." Angel dug around and located the big box of crayons he had picked up the previous night. "And here." He tore a blank sheet of paper from the pad on the reception desk and brought it to her. "There you go, all set."  
  
Seeming satisfied for the moment, Buffy settled down with the crayons and began to scribble on the paper. Angel heaved a sigh of relief and went back to researching a rare demon species that was rumored to be invading the city. For about 10 minutes, all was quiet. Then the front door opened and Wesley came in.  
  
"Wesley! I am so glad to see you," Angel greeted him. "Come over here and meet Buffy. You didn't get introduced yesterday." He knelt down beside Buffy and got her attention. "Buffy, this is Wesley. He's a friend."  
  
"Hello, Buffy," Wesley addressed her.  
  
"Hi." Buffy barely glanced at him and went back to her drawing.  
  
"I guess she's a little shy," Angel apologized on Buffy's behalf, drawing Wesley away from her. "She doesn't really remember any of us, you know."  
  
"How are you coming along with her?" Wesley asked. "Well?"  
  
"I really don't know how to tell," Angel admitted. "I'm trying."  
  
"Can I help with anything?"  
  
"I was hoping you would ask that." Angel decided to take advantage of the offer and get as much help as he could. "I want to get some food for Buffy from the store but I'm not really the best person to go shopping since for one, I don't eat so I'm not very acquainted with the layout of modern stores, and two, I have to keep an eye on Buffy."  
  
"You could take her to the store with you."  
  
Angel shook his head. "Not an option. I learned my lesson when I took her shopping last night."  
  
"So you want me to go for you?"  
  
"Exactly." Angel held out a paper. "I've already written out a list."  
  
Wesley accepted it and read, "Milk, orange soda, grape soda, chocolate ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, candy, french fries, hamburgers." He looked at Angel. "How did you come up with this list?"  
  
"I asked Buffy what she likes."  
  
Wesley looked at Cordelia, who shrugged and said, "I'm trying to stay out of this as much as possible."  
  
"Can you go now?" Angel asked.  
  
"I suppose," Wesley answered.   
  
"Thanks, I owe you." Angel relaxed a little as Wesley turned and walked back out the door to run the errand. That made one thing he didn't have to worry about for a while. He had just gone back to his research when Buffy trotted over and tapped him on the arm.   
  
"Angel, look!" She held up her drawing.  
  
Angel dutifully looked. He saw a few streaks of blue at the top of the paper, a yellow blob, some black marks under it, brown and red lines, and a lot of green at the bottom. "Very pretty. So, what's it supposed to be?"  
  
"It's my house!" Buffy said indignantly. "And Mommy and Daddy and me and you too!" She stabbed her finger at the black marks.  
  
Angel was on the verge of asking which mark was supposed to be him when he saw Cordelia shaking her head behind Buffy's back. Instead he said, "I told you it was pretty."  
  
Looking mollified, Buffy changed moods again and presented him with the drawing. "Mommy always puts them on the 'frigerator."  
  
This time, Angel took the hint and replied, "I will too." Buffy waited, obviously expecting him to do it right then. Obediently, Angel got up and announced, "I'm going into the kitchen right now to put it up."  
  
"Can I have a coloring book?" Buffy asked him before he could leave.  
  
"Yeah, sure." He hadn't thought to buy any at the store so Angel went over to the bookcase and dug through the volumes there, looking for some useless thing Buffy could have to play with. He selected an old cookbook and gave it to her. "There you are. Have fun." Then, not wanting to give Buffy an excuse to become upset again, Angel went into the kitchen to stick her artwork up on the refrigerator. When it was safely pinned in place on the door, he went back to the lobby to see Buffy coloring peacefully and Cordelia in the middle of a phone call. All looked calm. Angel settled back down with his papers and resumed work.  
  
Wesley returned with the groceries and unpacked them. Things were still calm. Wesley came back to the lobby and hunted up a couple of files. No problem there either. Wesley glanced at Buffy and saw what book she was coloring in. No more calm.  
  
"Why is that child defacing a first edition of the Ancient Demon Rituals?" he yelled. Before Angel could do anything, Wesley had marched over and pulled the book away from Buffy, scowling at her. "Look!" Wesley flipped through the pages, revealing different crayon colors on at least half of them. "It's ruined! Absolutely ruined!"  
  
Frightened, Buffy began to cry. Angel ran over and picked her up, protectively turning her away from Wesley. "Don't yell. You're scaring Buffy. And what are you talking about? I gave her an old cookbook, not a rare demon book."   
  
Wesley pointed at the corner of a book lying under Buffy's stuffed elephant. When he spoke, it was in a chilling whisper. "THERE is your cookbook."  
  
"Buffy?" Angel said gently. "Where did you get the book Wesley's holding?"  
  
She sniffled as she clung to his neck and pointed at the lower shelves of the bookcase. "Over there. It was more fun than the one you gave me."  
  
"See?" Wesley said grimly.  
  
"It wasn't her fault," Angel defended. "She didn't know."  
  
"No, it wasn't her fault," Wesley agreed. "It was yours." Carrying the damaged book, he stalked into his office.  
  
Cordelia had remained silent throughout the confrontation. Now that it was over, she piped up. "Angel, have you ever heard of a little service called day care? I think it's time to look into that idea."  
  
  
TBC 


	5. Day Care

The more Angel thought about it, the better Cordelia's suggestion of sending Buffy to day care sounded. Buffy would be surrounded by playmates of her own age, not to mention being around adults who actually knew how to handle small children. Plus she wouldn't be at the hotel all day requiring nearly constant supervision. Everyone would be happy.  
  
The next morning, Angel phoned and registered a spot for Buffy at the Kids Corner Day Care Center, using the name "Buffy Angel" to help hide her real identity. Then, since the center was only a handful of blocks away, Cordelia walked Buffy over for her first day. Angel relaxed and went about the remainder of the morning and afternoon almost exactly as he would have done before the four year old Buffy was left on his doorstep. Every so often, though, he found himself glancing around for her until he recalled that she wasn't there.  
  
That evening, not long before the center's closing time, Cordelia departed to pick up Buffy. Angel watched as Wesley went about setting up Buffy's things in preparation for a tea party. Wesley had promised to play that particular game with Buffy every night for a whole week to make up for yelling at her. He hadn't known what he was letting himself in for. When playing tea party, Buffy insisted that each participant handle one of her dolls or stuffed animals and adopt its persona. The previous night, Buffy had used the Barbie doll, while Wesley had to handle her stuffed lamb and provide its high pitched voice, which he'd practiced over and over and over until Buffy was satisfied it was just right.   
  
Angel had just finished with a phone call when Cordelia came through the door, releasing Buffy's hand only when they were safely inside. Angel looked over at Buffy, glad to see that she seemed OK. "Buffy, how did your day go? What did you do?"  
  
"Nothing," she replied.  
  
"Nothing?"  
  
"Nothing." She turned and trotted over to Wesley to begin playing.  
  
Angel looked at Cordelia. "Everything go all right?"  
  
"The worker said Buffy acted up a little. Honestly, I think she was glad to get rid of her. But I didn't have time to stand around talking about it so I just left."  
  
Angel shrugged. "She'll settle down. They're professionals there and they know what they're doing."  
  
"If you say so."  
  
Cordelia and Angel each went back to work, with the sounds of Buffy and Wesley playing tea party in the background.  
  
For a week, things went on pretty much like this. Cordelia dropped Buffy off at day care in the morning and picked her up late in the day. Then Buffy played tea party with Wesley and sometimes Angel, when he couldn't come up with a good enough excuse to escape. It wasn't that he minded spending time with Buffy, but tea party was her favorite and worst game. If Buffy gave him the stuffed dog to handle, it wasn't too bad. He mainly just had to bark once in a while and pretend to make the dog drink from the tea cup. If Buffy handed him the unicorn, though, he had to provide the exact right unicorn voice as determined by Buffy, who was very picky.  
  
On the fifth night, when Cordelia brought Buffy home, Angel asked his usual question, "What did you do today?", and Buffy replied like she always did with a brief "Nothing."  
  
Tonight, Angel finally pressed the issue. "How can you do nothing every single day? I think that's impossible. You had to do SOMETHING. Now, what was it?"  
  
"Nothing," Buffy repeated.  
  
Angel looked at her pursed lips and stubborn expression and backed off, realizing he wasn't going to get anywhere with her. "Fine, you go to day care for hours at a time, day after day, yet nothing happens. I'm glad I'm getting my money's worth." Buffy missed the sarcasm in his voice and went off to play with Wesley.  
  
"You know, at some point, every kid uses that line about nothing happening," Cordelia informed Angel.  
  
"I still don't like it. Well, maybe she'll start opening up as she becomes more secure."  
  
Cordelia returned to her filing and Angel picked up the "Guide to Being a Good Parent" book, which he had been plowing through during spare moments. He had barely opened it when the phone rang. He pushed the book aside and answered, "Hello, Angel Investigations."  
  
"Mr. Angel?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"This is Kristen Mayhew of the Kids Corner Day Care Center, and I'm calling about Buffy."  
  
Angel glanced across the lobby. Buffy was happily tormenting Wesley. "What about her?"  
  
"We have a bit of a problem. Buffy has been - "  
  
At that point Angel tuned the woman out, because the front door had opened and a trio of blue skinned Dynash demons entered, pushing dark hoods down from their heads to reveal the little horns dotting their faces.   
  
"... hitting the other children and we're concerned that ... "  
  
The first demon stared at Buffy, stuck out its black tongue, and hissed. Buffy looked up from her game and pointed at the demon. "His face looks funny."  
  
"Don't point. It's rude," Wesley warned.  
  
"Why?" Buffy asked.   
  
"It just is," Wesley informed her.  
  
Buffy opened her mouth to protest. Angel interrupted Miss Mayhew's speech, which he'd barely heard anyway. "I'm sorry, I have to go." He dropped the phone into its cradle and strode across the lobby to distract Buffy. They hadn't had many paying clients recently and the last thing he needed was for Buffy to insult the only potential ones they'd seen in days. He recognized the Dynash demons as being a peaceful species that might provide them with some income.  
  
"Buffy," Angel called. "Do you want me to play tea party with you?"  
  
"Yes!" Buffy squealed, losing interest in the bizarre strangers in the lobby.  
  
While Buffy was setting a place at the table for his animal, Angel sent Cordelia a look begging her to find out what the demons wanted. She took the hint and ushered them over to the reception desk.  
  
"Angel!" Buffy chirped. "Play!"  
  
His heart sank. She was handing him the stuffed unicorn. But he couldn't disappoint her by refusing to participate. Reluctantly, Angel accepted the unicorn and sat it in position at the nearest chair.   
  
Buffy held her Barbie doll at the head of the small table. A tiny cup sat in each place setting, and a pitcher, utensils, and other odds and ends lay scattered around. Angel quietly poured his unicorn a cup of tea (actually colored water) and hoped he'd get off lightly.  
  
It wasn't to be. "Do the voice!" Buffy commanded.  
  
Angel cleared his throat and then whispered in a very deep voice, "Please pass the sugar."  
  
"Louder!" Buffy ordered.  
  
Angel raised his voice a fraction. "Please pass - "  
  
"Louder!" Buffy cried, causing the demons and Cordelia to look over at them to see what the problem was.   
  
Angel gave up on trying to be discreet and spoke at a normal volume, if not in a normal voice. "Please pass the sugar, Barbie."  
  
"Here you are, Mr. Unicorn." She handed the little sugar container to him. "Mr. Lamb, do you want anything?"  
  
It was small consolation to Angel, but Wesley had it worse than him. He had to affect a squeaky voice to portray the lamb when he asked Buffy to hand him a spoon.  
  
They struggled through more than 10 minutes of the tea party before Cordelia finished with the demons and they exited. While Buffy was digging through her mound of toys in search of a missing fork, Cordelia came over to Angel.  
  
"Don't tell me, they thought we were insane and walked out," he guessed.  
  
"No. The opposite! They were so impressed with how you and Wesley handled Buffy that they gave us their business. Partial payment in advance. It should be an easy job, too. Dust a few vampires and collect the money." Cordelia looked even happier than Angel felt about having some income again.  
  
It was only later, after Buffy had gone to sleep, that Angel remembered the phone call from earlier that night. Had the woman from the day care center been trying to tell him something about Buffy being a bully?   
  
No, Angel decided, he must have misheard her.  
  
  
  
  
  
Notes  
-No, I haven't posted this story anywhere else. If it seems familiar to anyone plotwise then you've probably read someone else's response to the same challenge I'm answering.   
-About the timeline, this story is set in October of 2000 (S5/S2). So Joyce and Riley were still around, but I didn't want them to be involved much. Chapter 1 contains an explanation of Joyce's absence. Riley's absence will be explained in a future chapter. 


	6. The Nanny

The next morning, as usual, Cordelia packed Buffy up and set off for the day care center with her. This time, however, instead of returning home alone, Cordelia brought Buffy right back with her. Angel, who was trying to sleep in the morning as he preferred to do, only found out about this turn of events after Cordelia hammered on his door to wake him up.   
  
"Angel! Downstairs, two minutes!"   
  
Hearing the determined tone of her voice, he didn't even consider disobeying. Two minutes later, Angel was dressed and downstairs. One of the first things that caught his eye was Buffy's presence. She was sitting in a corner, scowling.   
  
"They wouldn't take Buffy at the day care center," Cordelia announced.   
  
"What? Why?"   
  
"You're supposed to call them if you have any questions."   
  
Angel accepted the phone number Cordelia handed him and dialed it. Soon he was speaking to Kristen Mayhew, the woman who had phoned him the previous evening.   
  
"Mr. Angel," she addressed him, "I tried to discuss matters with you last night and you hung up on me."   
  
"I had an emergency," he covered up. "What's this I hear about Buffy not being allowed in your center anymore?"   
  
"Some children do not respond well to the environment of day care. I'm afraid that Buffy is one of them."   
  
"What exactly does that mean?" Angel demanded. "Buffy isn't good enough for you?"   
  
"It means she has hit several other children and taken their toys away, and refused to be quiet when requested. Not to mention that she upsets the other children with disturbing stories of horrible monsters she claims come to her home nearly every day. Creatures with discolored, misshapen faces. It's very upsetting to some of the others. Finally, we're also concerned about the fact that Buffy insists her last name is Summers, yet she is registered under the name of Buffy Angel. And every time we've attempted to discuss any of our concerns with you or the young woman who brings Buffy in every day, we've been brushed off. We have no choice but to stop allowing her to come in."   
  
"Fine, have it your way." Angel hung up, not wanting to argue because he had no good cover story to explain away the fact that Buffy had been attending the center under an assumed name.   
  
Cordelia looked at him. "No luck, obviously."   
  
"We'll take her to another center. She'll do better." Angel was determined. After talking with that woman, he was sure any problems came from her end. Anyone who was that bitchy and critical of a small child over the telephone had to be evil. It was best that he found out now so Buffy was out of their clutches before they could do any serious harm to her. He got up and went over to Buffy's chair in the corner. "Don't worry, we'll take you to a much nicer place the next time," he promised, "with more children to play with and adults who really know what they're doing."   
  
"No!" Buffy protested. "I don't wanna go."   
  
"Don't you like day care?" Angel coaxed.  
  
"No, I wanna stay here. They're mean there."   
  
"They aren't mean everywhere. They have nicer people in other places. We'll find one, I promise."  
  
Buffy's lower lip quivered, a sure sign that she was about to throw a tantrum. "Nooooo!" she wailed, throwing her arms around Angel's neck and burying her face against his shoulder.  
  
"All right! We won't do it!" Angel immediately backed down, thereby breaking all the rules in the parenting books he'd been reading. He couldn't help it; when it came to something Buffy wanted, he caved in almost every time.  
  
At least he'd averted a tantrum. Buffy sniffled, smiled at him, and then went off to play with her Furby for probably about the usual five minutes a day she spent with it.  
  
Angel looked at Cordelia, who was gazing at him knowingly from the nearest desk. "Angel, you're too soft hearted for your own good," she informed him. "But then, Buffy always could wrap you around her little finger. Obviously nothing's changed there."  
  
"I can't take her back to day care," he protested. "She was miserable there. That must be why she would never talk about what she did all day."  
  
"So you want to go back to trying to watch her here every second? Like that worked so well the first time."  
  
"I don't, but do you have any other ideas? Some sort of compromise" Angel looked pleadingly at Cordelia, who turned thoughtful.  
  
"How do you like the idea of hiring a nanny?" she suggested. "You could try for someone who can live in for the few weeks Buffy will be here. That might be ideal."  
  
"Sounds good," Angel agreed.  
  
"All right, so I'll call around and try to get some recommendations. After all, we'll need someone who knows about the existence of demons and doesn't mind working around them. In the meantime, I suggest you set up a TV in the lobby to help keep Buffy entertained."   
  
Angel liked that idea, so when Gunn turned up soon afterwards they worked together to set up a TV in a convenient position. Once it was ready, Buffy quickly became engrossed in a program called "Rugrats," leaving the others free to go about their business.  
  
Cordelia made several phone calls, finally uttering an "Aha!" of triumph as she hung up following the last conversation. "I've found someone who seems perfect. Her name is Mrs. Grey and she's half demon but human in appearance. She also has references. She's going to come in this afternoon at 2 and be interviewed."  
  
Angel nodded. "Great, if she's as good as she sounds then she has the job."  
  
"Angel, it isn't as easy as all that," Cordelia warned. "She could always say no. She's doing us a favor by even showing up. If she doesn't like something about the situation, she could just leave and we'd be right back where we started."  
  
He hadn't thought of that possibility. "So, we make sure to impress her. Then she'll take the job and problem's solved."  
  
Cordelia looked dubious but didn't say anything. Again, she and Angel resumed work, with Gunn and Wesley coming and going on various errands, and Buffy still watching cartoons. Everyone was present when the phone rang at a little after noon and Cordelia answered. After a brief conversation, she hung up and yelled, "Wesley! Gunn! Pack up. We have to go out."  
  
Angel looked up from his work. "What's going on?"  
  
"Duty calls! Emergency demon slaying mission. We have to leave. I doubt we'll be back before the interview, so good luck."  
  
Even if he didn't have to watch Buffy, Angel couldn't have gone along because it was still daylight. He was forced to watch as Wesley, Gunn, and Cordelia grabbed supplies and hurried out the door on their assignment. It looked like he would have to handle the interview on his own. But how difficult could that be? All he had to do ahead of time was to straighten up a little since the place was a bit of a mess. Plenty of time for that, though. Mrs. Grey wasn't due to arrive for more than an hour yet. In the meantime, he'd just get a little more research done.  
  
A while later, Angel's research session was interrupted by the sounds of a car pulling up outside the hotel and a door opening. "Oh, shit!" Angel swore. He'd really wanted to make a good impression, but he'd totally lost track of time and he was sure the newcomer was Mrs. Grey. He looked around. The lobby remained a minor disaster area, with the toys he'd meant to put away instead strewn everywhere.   
  
Even worse, Buffy had learned a new word. "Shit, shit, shit!" she chorused from her place in front of the TV set.  
  
"No, Buffy, don't say that," Angel scolded as he dashed about clearing off a couple of chairs. "It's a very bad word."  
  
She looked up at him with wide eyes. "YOU said it."  
  
"It was bad of me. Forget all about it, OK?" Angel pinned a smile on his face and went to greet the woman who had just entered the building. "Mrs. Grey?"  
  
"Yes, and you are-?" She hesitated.  
  
"Angel," he filled in. He assessed the woman's appearance. She seemed normal enough, not noticeably demonic, about medium height, with short, curly brown hair. Probably about 40 years old, he estimated, though being part demon might have affected her aging. No warning bells were going off in his head, so she might work out. "Please, sit down," he invited. He and Mrs. Grey took the nearest two seats, and Angel began his speech. "I think this will be great for all of us. We really need someone to look after Buffy, and our other options didn't work out so well."  
  
"Yes, I understand all that," she interrupted. "Can I see the child?"  
  
"Sure. She's right over there." Angel indicated Buffy, who remained glued to the TV.  
  
"I meant I want to talk to her," Mrs. Grey clarified.  
  
"Oh. Buffy, come over here for a minute!" Angel called.  
  
She ignored him.  
  
"Buffy!"  
  
"I'm watching Bugs Bunny!" she protested in a voice that couldn't be classified as anything other than a whine.  
  
"Buffy..." Angel repeated in a warning tone while fixing a plastic smile to his face for Mrs. Grey's benefit.   
  
Reluctantly, Buffy stood and came over to him, eyes down. She did not look at all happy.  
  
"Hello, Buffy, it's nice to meet you," Mrs. Grey greeted her.  
  
Buffy was silent. "Well, what do you say?" Angel prompted.  
  
Buffy opened her mouth and out came, "Shit!" The single word resounded throughout the room.  
  
TBC  
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Addressing a few comments left in feedback:  
Kyoki: No, Riley won't appear much at all. If he played a significant factor in this story, it would just take away from where the focus needs to be. I might not even give him any dialogue.  
  
Truth: My response to your charming invitation to join an anti-Buffy/Spike mailing list is, screw you and the keyboard you typed it on. (Keeping my reaction to a PG-13 rating here.) Wherever you got the idea I might be receptive, forget it.  
  
Shahid: The ending will probably be B/A in tone. Of course, by then Buffy will be back to her "normal" age. 


	7. More Problems

In the last chapter, Mrs. Grey the nanny arrived to meet Buffy --  
.  
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"Hello, Buffy, it's nice to meet you," Mrs. Grey greeted her.  
  
Buffy was silent. "Well, what do you say?" Angel prompted.  
  
Buffy opened her mouth and out came, "Shit!" The single word resounded throughout the room.  
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"WHAT was that?" Mrs. Grey and Angel both stared in shock at Buffy. "What did you say?" Mrs. Grey continued in a terrible voice.  
  
"Shit!" Buffy repeated defiantly.  
  
"That's what I thought you said," Mrs. Grey replied in a chilling whisper. "And just where did you learn this word?"  
  
Buffy pointed. "From Angel."  
  
If he was capable of turning bright red he was sure he would have. "It was an accident. I blurted it out and Buffy picked it up. I told her it was a bad word. I don't know why she didn't listen to me."  
  
"You should know better than to say bad words around impressionable ears." Mrs. Grey scolded before she turned to Buffy. "And you, little girl. Do you know what we do to little children who use bad words?"  
  
Buffy shook her head, her eyes wide.   
  
Mrs. Grey looked at Angel. "If I'm to be Buffy's nanny, it's best that I start immediately and discipline her in an appropriate manner. I'm sure you'll agree. Now, where is your bathroom?"  
  
"Over there." Angel pointed and watched as Mrs. Grey took Buffy's arm and led her away. He thought he knew what was going to happen. Buffy was about to get her mouth washed out with soap. It would be an unpleasant experience but she would learn from it. He bet she'd never say "shit" again.  
  
But something was bothering Angel and he couldn't put his finger on what. He tried to shake away the feeling of unease that had crept over him. Mrs. Grey had come highly recommended. She knew how to handle young children, certainly better than he did. She would take care of the situation and that would be that. It must just be that he was overprotective of Buffy and was paranoid, imagining problems where none existed. He turned to go back to work. Then a small sound penetrated his consciousness. It was a very small sound indeed but he heard it. Only what was it?   
  
A minute later the noise came again and a feeling of alarm shot through Angel. It had come from the direction of the bathroom. Buffy! Seconds later, Angel was outside the closed door. "Mrs. Grey? Buffy?" He tried the knob. It was locked.  
  
"Just a minute," Mrs. Grey called back. "This won't take long." A second later, she uttered a cry of pain and then Buffy screamed.  
  
Angel didn't wait any longer. He put his shoulder to the door and broke it open. Mrs. Grey, a knife in one bleeding hand and Buffy's shirt collar in the other, looked up at him.   
  
"She tried to cut my tongue out!" Buffy wailed.   
  
Three seconds later, Angel had thrown the fired nanny into the hall and was examining Buffy for signs of injury. The blood on her chin alarmed him at first until he realized it was Mrs. Grey's. Buffy had bitten her on the hand.  
  
"Stay here," he ordered Buffy as he went into the hallway to find the woman. He was just in time to see her running out of the front door into the safety of the sunlight.  
  
It was probably a good thing. If he'd caught her he might not have been able to stop himself from killing her. What kind of caretaker was he? He'd almost let Buffy get her tongue sliced off by a demonic nanny.  
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The rest of the AI gang was horrified when they returned and heard what had almost happened to Buffy. Wesley and Gunn felt so bad, they volunteered to take her to see the "Digimon" movie that evening.   
  
Once they were gone, Angel reached for the telephone. He had been thinking matters over and had reached the conclusion that Buffy belonged with her mother. He dialed Joyce's number but naturally there was no answer. Joyce must still be away on her business trip. Giles might know how to get in touch with her so Angel dialed his number next.  
  
"Hello?" Riley's voice answered the phone.  
  
"Riley, it's Angel."  
  
"Oh. Hi."  
  
"I'm calling about Buffy," Angel explained. He wasn't surprised that Riley didn't sound too happy to hear from him.  
  
"Buffy isn't here," Riley replied. "She went off on a slaying retreat."  
  
Angel hesitated. Riley was speaking like he didn't know what had happened to Buffy. If he did know, someone should have told him where Buffy was.   
  
"You want to talk to Giles or Willow?" Riley asked. "They're both here."  
  
"Yes." One of them should be able to give him some answers. While Angel waited for someone else to talk to, he listened to the background noises. He recognized the voices of Willow, Xander, and surely that couldn't be Spike, could it?   
  
Just then Giles came on the line. "Angel? Is anything wrong?"  
  
"Buffy's OK but she's not having the easiest time of it. I really think she'd be better off with her mother."  
  
"We don't believe that's a good idea," Giles answered. "If you can hold off for another week, we're attempting to accelerate matters so we can move up the timetable of recovery."  
  
"You can't speak freely?" Angel guessed. "Is it because Riley's there? He didn't seem to have a clue about what really happened to Buffy or that she's with me."  
  
"We thought it best not to inform him, for various reasons," Giles replied vaguely.  
  
"But you'll give me Joyce's number, won't you?" Angel pressed.  
  
"I'm sorry. At the moment, we don't believe that is the wisest course of action."  
  
Angel sighed. "All right, I guess I'll have to trust your judgement. Just please, try to hurry things up."   
  
"Yes, we will. Goodbye, Angel."  
  
Slowly Angel hung up the phone. From what Giles had said, they might be able to change Buffy back to normal sooner than they had expected. That was the good news. He hoped they were right.  
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Two hours later, Wesley, Gunn, and Buffy returned from the movie. Wesley and Gunn's eyes were glazed over. Buffy was rattling on about Kari and Tai from the movie and how much fun it had been.  
  
"That was 88 minutes of my life I'll never get back," Gunn informed Angel.  
  
"Was it that bad?" Angel asked guiltily.  
  
"Yes," Wesley said succinctly.  
  
"All right, you guys paid your dues. You can take off and I'll watch Buffy the rest of the night," Angel offered. Cordelia had already gone off somewhere so it was only fair that he give Gunn and Wesley a break. From the looks on their faces and Buffy's description of the movie, they deserved it.  
  
Soon Angel and Buffy were the only ones in the hotel lobby. Buffy insisted on repeating every detail of the events of the movie and Angel pretended to listen. Buffy only stopped when she heard a car outside. She ran over to the window and looked out.   
  
"Angel, someone's here!" she called.  
  
He followed her, hoping it wasn't a client who needed immediate help.   
  
It wasn't. The car parked in front of the hotel was a DeSoto and the driver was Spike. 


	8. The SPIKE Chapter

In the last chapter --  
  
Soon Angel and Buffy were the only ones in the hotel lobby. Buffy insisted on repeating every detail of the events of the movie and Angel pretended to listen. Buffy only stopped when she heard a car outside. She ran over to the window and looked out.   
  
"Angel, someone's here!" she called.  
  
He followed her, hoping it wasn't a client who needed immediate help.   
  
It wasn't. The car parked in front of the hotel was a DeSoto and the driver was Spike.   
  
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.  
  
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Angel met his unwelcome visitor outside. "Spike, go away."  
  
Instead Spike leaned against the hood of his car and smirked. "Now why would you ask me to do that after I've driven all this way?"  
  
"Just get lost. Now."  
  
Spike looked past him. "Who would that happen to be inside your hotel? That small child staring out at us?" Spike raised his hand in a little wave. "That couldn't possibly be Buffy, could it?"  
  
Taken off guard, Angel demanded, "How the hell do you know that?"  
  
"Her little gang isn't so good at keeping secrets. They're always inviting me over so they can pick my brain about the demon of the week and they usually forget I have vampire hearing. I found out about Willow's foul-up with the spell but then the slayer conveniently disappeared. I never thought they'd bring her here, though. Until your phone call to Giles earlier today. Yeah, I happened to be in his apartment at the time delivering information and that tipped me off."  
  
"And that news brings you here why?"  
  
"Would you believe I was concerned about Buffy's well-being?" Off of Angel's glare, Spike went on, "Didn't think so. All right, so it was curiosity. Boredom. Been in Sunnydale too long. I needed a change of scenery."  
  
Angel took a step toward Spike but he realized Buffy was still intently watching. That meant he couldn't do the one thing he most wanted to do -- grab Spike and hurl him away. Buffy had witnessed enough violence lately. He didn't want to traumatize her. He was forced to try to either reason with or threaten the pest into leaving. "Go away, Spike," he repeated through gritted teeth. He didn't really expect the order to work so he was surprised when Spike shrugged and retreated into his car. Of course things couldn't be that easy. Spike wouldn't give up so quickly so he must have some backup plot in mind, and knowing Spike it would be nasty. Not giving him a chance to put it into play, Angel returned to the hotel to check on Buffy.  
  
She was still glued to the window. Angel turned her away and crouched down in front of her for a discussion, placing his hands on her shoulders so she would look him in the eye. "Buffy, remember, you should never talk to strangers. Right?"  
  
"Right," she readily agreed.   
  
"And you're not supposed to go outside unless I'm with you, or Cordelia or Wesley or Gunn is. Right?"  
  
"Right," she said again.  
  
Satisfied that she understood the rules, Angel was about to let her go when Buffy turned back to the window and promptly squealed, "Mr. Gordo!"  
  
Angel looked up. Spike was back outside the hotel and he had brought bait. He was dangling Buffy's stuffed pig in front of the window like a juicy worm before a fish.   
  
"He has Mr. Gordo!" Buffy repeated, trying to wiggle away from Angel.  
  
He retained his grip on her. "Forget about it. I'll buy you another one."  
  
Unable to wriggle free, Buffy settled for kicking him in the shin. "He's the only Mr. Gordo!"  
  
Angel rubbed his leg, sensing the incipient signs of a tantrum of major proportions. He looked back at Spike, who was holding Mr. Gordo poised like he was about to rip him apart. He knew he'd never hear the end of it if he allowed that disaster to occur. Defeated, Angel carried Buffy over to the door, opened it and called, "Spike, come in!"   
  
"Knew you'd see sense in the end." Spike calmly walked inside and handed the pig to Buffy. "Nice place you've got here."  
  
"Buffy, this is Spike. He's a -- " Angel stopped. He couldn't bring himself to apply the word "friend" to Spike, even to reassure Buffy.   
  
She didn't seem to mind the lack of definition of Spike's role. "He's nice. He brought Mr. Gordo back!"  
  
"Well, I figured you missed him and I knew Angel here would never get him for you," Spike said maliciously. "See, Angel doesn't like pigs very much."  
  
"Yes, I do. I'm a huge pig fan," Angel retorted idiotically before he could think about what he was saying.  
  
Buffy, though, wasn't paying attention to him. She was too busy staring at Spike.  
  
"What's wrong?" Angel asked her. She was acting like she remembered Spike.  
  
"He looks like --" she started.  
  
Feeling a sharp stab of jealousy, Angel glanced at Spike. It would be completely unfair if he turned out to be the only person Buffy remembered. All he had done was be a pain in the ass and bring her a stuffed animal. He hadn't done any of the hard stuff.  
  
"He looks like my Furby!" Buffy completed triumphantly.  
  
Everyone looked at the white Furby with blue eyes that stood dormant on top of the Barbie Dreamhouse box. Angel looked back at Spike. Buffy was right. He DID kind of resemble the Furby.   
  
A scowling Furby. Spike obviously didn't appreciate being compared to a fad toy. "IT looks like ME," he corrected. "But my hair isn't that light. Anyone can see that."  
  
"All right, Spike," Angel cut in as he gently set Buffy on the ground. "You brought the pig over. Now we need to talk." He maneuvered Spike to a corner away from Buffy, whose interest in the Furby had been renewed. "You have to leave," Angel informed Spike. "You know you're not welcome here and I won't put up with you. You're so low that you broke into Buffy's house, stole her favorite stuffed animal, and drove all the way over here just so you could trick us into letting you inside so you can torture us."  
  
"Well, yeah," Spike said like his deviousness was the most natural thing in the world.   
  
"It's definitely time for you to leave," Angel repeated.  
  
"Throw me out and I'll make sure Soldier Boy finds out what's up with you and Buffy. How long do you think it'll take him to come charging over here like a bull in a china shop? You know he will."  
  
Angel hesitated. Spike had played his trump card. It looked like it came down to a choice between two unpleasant options. Spike or Riley? Riley or Spike? It wasn't a decision anyone should have to make. The question was, would he rather put up with Spike, the world's most annoying vampire, or Riley, whose position as Buffy's boyfriend made him one of the most annoying humans?   
  
A few factors did play in favor of Spike. For one, he was already in Los Angeles and Buffy had seen him. She even seemed to like him. Also, Spike was chipped and couldn't harm her. If Riley paid an appearance, the potential for violence would be jacked up quite a few notches. Then again, Angel had no guarantee that Spike wouldn't stay to torment him, then go back to Sunnydale and tell Riley the truth anyway. In fact, knowing Spike, it seemed likely.  
  
Having weighed all the options, Angel issued his final verdict. "Out." He pointed at the door.  
  
"I want Spike to stay," a little voice by his side whined.  
  
It was Buffy. For some unfathomable reason, she'd taken a liking to Spike. Angel knelt down next to her. "It's time for Spike to leave. In fact, it's PAST time. And you need to go to bed."  
  
"No!" Buffy cried as she dropped Mr. Gordo and latched onto Spike's leg with both arms in a death grip. "Spike can't go!"  
  
"Buffy, let go of him," Angel ordered.  
  
"No!" she insisted stubbornly.  
  
"You're going to scar her for life if you rip her away," Spike taunted. "These are vital formative years."  
  
Angel hated to admit it but it looked like Spike was right. Short of amputating Buffy's arms, he didn't think it would be easy to pry her away from Spike. She had to be the most stubborn child in the world. All those parenting books Angel had been reading gave him an idea of how to handle things, though. He'd just wait out the situation. Surely Buffy would give up soon if he didn't show any more interest. "Fine. Spike can stay as long as you want him to."  
  
Buffy maintained her clutch hold as Spike moved to the nearest chair and made himself comfortable. "So you like staying with Angel, do you?"  
  
"Yeah!" she agreed enthusiastically. "He plays tea party with me and gives me presents and cookies and ice cream all the time."  
  
"Tea party?" Spike's lips twitched.  
  
Angel tried not to listen as Buffy launched into an imitation of his unicorn voice, but Spike's snickering was impossible to ignore. That wasn't all Buffy said about him. Through a series of seemingly innocent questions, Spike got her to reveal all of his questionable 'parenting' decisions, painting him in the worst possible light.   
  
"You got sent home from day care for misbehavior, huh?" Spike summarized after hearing Buffy's version of that incident. He winked at Angel. "I'm sure everyone back home in Sunnydale would love to hear these details, wouldn't they?" By the time Buffy got to the part about saying the "bad word" in front of Mrs. Grey, Spike was nearly in hysterics and Angel had counted to 10 many times over.  
  
Buffy would give up soon, he kept assuring himself.   
  
The torture went on for what seemed like forever but was really only about an hour. At that point Buffy was still clutching Spike's leg but at least Spike had stopped being amused and was becoming bored. He had exhausted Buffy's stockpile of embarrassing Angel stories and was looking pretty impatient. "Right now, that's enough," he informed Buffy. "Let me go."  
  
"Can't go," Buffy objected. "I like you."  
  
Spike attempted to shake her off his leg but the chip quickly reacted, zapping him. Buffy retained her grip. Spike looked pleadingly at Angel.   
  
"Get her off of me."  
  
With this new turn of events, however, Angel had started to enjoy the situation. "Nope. You got yourself into this mess and you can get yourself out of it."  
  
"Look, Buffy," Spike attempted to patiently explain. "You have to let me go. I need to get home."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I need to!" Spike yelled, losing his temper.  
  
"Why?" Buffy repeated.  
  
With a growl, Spike gave up and flopped back in his chair. "This isn't funny," he grumbled.  
  
Angel still thought it was but he was reconsidering his options. He had a golden opportunity to get rid of Spike and he probably shouldn't pass it up. "Buffy," he called. "If you let Spike leave, I'll take you out to the Digimon movie tomorrow night. OK?"  
  
"OK," she chirped, releasing Spike.  
  
He shot to his feet and out the door, not giving Buffy a chance to change her mind. As his car roared off down the road, Angel collected Buffy and Mr. Gordo to go to bed. He didn't think Spike would be hurrying back. He just hoped Riley wouldn't show up next. 


	9. The Police Station

Over the next day Angel kept a close lookout for trouble but nothing popped up for quite some time. Spike was gone and Riley hadn't shown up. They might have gotten off fairly lightly.   
  
Then the telephone rang. That was not always a good sign lately. Angel picked it up and cautiously answered, "Hello, Angel Investigations."  
  
"Angel? It's Kate Lockley."  
  
"Kate." Angel relaxed. A call from the police would normally be a significant cause for alarm but considering that the caller was Kate, he wasn't too worried. The problem was probably demon related and she just wanted their assistance. "Anything we can help you with?"  
  
"No, it's more like you're the one who needs help. Do you have a little girl named Buffy staying with you?"  
  
Angel looked across the lobby to where Buffy was watching an episode of "Rugrats" on the videotape Cordelia had insisted they make. "How do you know about her?"  
  
"I have a friend who works in DCF. The Department of Children and Family. She tipped me off to a situation they're supposed to look into. The Kids Corner Day Care Center reported some irregularities with a girl named Buffy Angel who was listed as living at your address. As a favor to me, my friend let me know."  
  
"What does all that mean? What are they going to do?"  
  
Kate explained, "Someone from the department will be visiting you to find out more. If she doesn't like the answers you give, she could take Buffy away and you could be in serious legal trouble."  
  
"They can't take Buffy," Angel insisted. "She's fine here."  
  
"Then the department can check you out and decide that for themselves?" Kate asked. "You'll be able to give them the answers they want, such as documentation and proof that this child is legally in your custody?"  
  
"Not exactly," Angel admitted. "But this situation is temporary. She won't even be staying here for more than another couple of weeks."  
  
Kate was silent for a moment. Then she said, "I'm not surprised to hear that there are complications. I think we can straighten everything out with no more trouble, though. Bring Buffy to the station tonight at 8. I'll have a friend from DCF here. I'll vouch for you and we can gloss over any loose ends."  
  
"Are you sure it will work out? I just have to show up with Buffy?"  
  
"Basically. It shouldn't be too difficult at all."  
  
"All right," Angel decided, "we'll be there. Thanks for helping." He hung up, still going over his options. There was the possibility of running away with Buffy so the authorities couldn't find her. They didn't know who she really was and once she was back to normal, they'd never figure things out. But they wouldn't stop pressuring Angel for answers and he'd be jeopardizing the agency and their clients if the police started investigating them. Kate had seemed confident that she could fix things. Angel decided to trust her and go to the meeting.   
  
When they heard the story, Gunn, Cordelia, and Wesley were all optimistic that things would fall into place and crisis would be averted. Buffy didn't know anything about it except that she was going out with Angel that night and would see the inside of a real police station and meet a few new people.  
  
She didn't seem very happy and Angel couldn't figure out why until she looked up at him with a betrayed expression and complained, "You promised! We're going to the Digimon movie tonight!"  
  
Angel had forgotten the promise he had made last night. "We'll see the movie tomorrow instead," he bargained.  
  
"No! You promised!"  
  
Buffy obviously took promises very seriously. Angel turned to the newspaper and found that the only two nearby showings of the "Digimon" movie that evening started before sunset and right after 8:00. "Wesley or Gunn can take you to the early showing," he offered Buffy.  
  
"You take me! You promised!"  
  
"All right, I did promise." Angel turned to Gunn. "If you can drive us over and there's enough shade, I should be able to make it. After the movie, it'll be dark and I'll walk Buffy right to the station. It isn't far from the theater."  
  
That idea worked out well. When the credits began to roll on the movie, Angel and Buffy were both settled into seats in the middle of the theater. Buffy had candy, soda, and popcorn and was eagerly looking forward to the film. Angel just hoped he could stay awake through the whole thing.  
  
About an hour and a half later, he came out of a stupor to realize that movie was over. Gunn and Wesley had been right when they'd said it was 88 minutes of their life they'd never get back. He felt that way too and he was immortal. Buffy had enjoyed it, though, and that was the important thing.  
  
As he led her out of the theater, Angel checked the time. They should be able to make it to the station with a few minutes to spare. That was what he assumed, anyway, but he hadn't accounted for Buffy's curiosity. As they walked, she kept trying to stop and investigate various shops full of fascinating window displays. Angel had to pick her up and carry her inside the station at the end of their trip. Instead of being early for the meeting, they were a few minutes late.  
  
Kate was waiting just inside, looking anxious. "Angel, you're here. Good. And this must be Buffy. We have a meeting room to ourselves. Let's go there and work this all out."  
  
She showed them to the room where the social worker was waiting and introduced them. Then Kate left to go back to her desk outside. After a few basic questions and absolutely no request for proof in the form of legal papers, the social worker spoke briefly to Buffy. Then she turned back to Angel. "Well, Kate vouches for you and everything seems fine so I don't think we need to pursue this matter any farther, as long as no other problems arise."  
  
Angel looked at the social worker. She must have really owed Kate big but he wasn't about to complain. "Thank you. We'll be going home now. It's past Buffy's bedtime."  
  
"I don't have one!" Buffy blurted, becoming talkative.  
  
Not giving her a chance to say anything else, Angel quickly led her out of the room. It was over and they could go home. Then he remembered Kate. It would be only polite to thank her. She had saved him a lot of trouble. "Wait right here, Buffy," he instructed, pointing to the bench they were standing beside. He waited until she was sitting down before he hurried across the room to where Kate was working.  
  
"How did it go?" she asked when he got there.  
  
"Fine. Very smoothly. Thanks for the help. I owe you now."  
  
"No problem," Kate replied. "And good luck."   
  
"Right." Angel turned and went back to the bench to collect Buffy so they could go home. Only she wasn't there.  
  
Angel turned and looked all around the room. Then he did it again, but he still didn't see Buffy anywhere. She was missing.  
  
TBC 


	10. The Puppy

Sorry about the last chapter not posting right. I was in a hurry to get it up before I went away for the weekend and didn't realize something went wrong. Here is the correct version.  
  
In the last chapter --  
  
.  
  
.  
  
Angel turned and looked all around the room. Then he did it again, but he still didn't see Buffy anywhere. She was missing.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
He looked again, more desperately. Mrs. Bettis the social worker came out of the office and stared suspiciously at him. Angel turned away and went to the other end of the room and back quietly and quickly searching. Still no Buffy.   
  
"Is anything wrong?"  
  
Angel jumped. Mrs. Bettis had come up behind him. "No, nothing's wrong," he said quickly. If he told her the truth about Buffy being gone, she might reopen her investigation into their situation. He walked away from the woman and stopped in the hallway. He had seen no sign of Buffy. Was it worth the risk to ask for help? What if she had been kidnapped? No, no one would steal a child out of a police station. She must have wandered off on her own. Where could she have gone?  
  
She wasn't in the hallway but the front door was jammed open so two workers carrying supplies could cart their boxes in. Angel ran to the door and looked out. Buffy wasn't on the sidewalk in front of the building. He turned to go back inside and ask the police for assistance after all and then he saw Buffy. She was outside down one block and in the middle of crossing a busy street.  
  
"Buffy!" Angel yelled. She was too far away to hear him, though, and a garbage truck was bearing down on her. Angel started to run, knowing he was too far away to reach her in time. He darted out in the middle of traffic and felt a car's bumper whistle past right behind him. Ahead, a horn blared and brakes screeched. There was no sound of a collision and Angel kept moving without checking traffic, hoping Buffy had somehow escaped injury. Finally he reached the other side of the road and turned to look back for Buffy. If she had kept moving and not been hit she should be nearby.  
  
He didn't see her anywhere at first. Then he heard a voice calling, "Angel, come look!"  
  
He whirled around. Buffy was standing calmly in front of a store window down the block. She tried to wiggle out of his grasp when Angel ran over and grabbed her but he held her firmly. "Buffy, are you all right? What were you doing? Didn't anyone ever teach you to look both ways before crossing a street?"  
  
"I did," she informed him.  
  
Satisfied that she was unharmed, Angel finally set her down but retained a grip on her hand. "I bet whoever told you that forgot to add the part about not crossing if anything's coming. Why did you leave the police station anyway? Didn't I tell you to wait there?"  
  
Buffy just pointed at the nearest store window. "Puppy."  
  
Angel looked in disbelief at the pet store with the large display of puppies. "You disobeyed me and crossed a dangerous, busy street just so you could look at some dogs?"  
  
"I want that one," Buffy continued, poking her finger against the glass and indicating a white puppy with black spots that was staring out the window at them. "I want that puppy."  
  
"You ran away and scared me half to death and now you want a Dalmatian puppy in return? No." Angel was determined to be firm on this point. Buffy had to learn that her actions had consequences and she couldn't get away with being disobedient. Besides, he knew who would be stuck doing all the work if they bought a puppy.  
  
Despite Buffy's protests, Angel led her back home and didn't give in. Not even when she cried and begged as he put her to bed.  
  
The next morning, much earlier than Angel liked, someone knocked on his door and woke him up. He dragged himself over to see that it was Cordelia and she didn't look very happy.   
  
"What's wrong?" he asked. "Why are you getting me up so early?"  
  
"It's Buffy," Cordelia announced. "Do you know that she cried herself to sleep last night?"  
  
Angel felt just a little guilty but then he reminded himself of how Buffy had behaved. She thought if she whined and cried she could get whatever she wanted. So far this method had worked for her. "Cordelia, are you aware that Buffy disobeyed me last night?" He gave her the whole story.  
  
"All right, no puppy," Cordelia agreed. "At least not a live one. Did you try getting her a stuffed one instead?"  
  
Angel hadn't thought of that so Cordelia left Buffy with Wesley while she went out to the store. Angel stayed upstairs, not wanting to face Buffy without a substitute for what she wanted. After a half hour Cordelia returned and handed him the stuffed Dalmatian.   
  
Angel went downstairs trying to look like he had forgotten the puppy incident. He hid the stuffed one behind his back and hoped he wouldn't have to use it. In the lobby he found Buffy listlessly sitting beside her Barbie house, ignoring Wesley's attempts to play with her.  
  
When he saw Angel, Wesley gave up. "Good luck," he said as he walked away.  
  
Buffy's reaction to Angel was somewhat different. Her eyes welled with tears and she turned away, refusing to look at him.  
  
Now Angel really felt guilty. Maybe he had been too hard on Buffy. She was only four, after all, and her life had been turned upside down. "Buffy," he cajoled, "I have something for you." He pulled the stuffed puppy out from behind his back and showed it to her. "It's a puppy, see?"  
  
"Not a real puppy!" Buffy insisted. She refused to take it from him so Angel set it down beside her.   
  
Buffy's attitude did not improve. She neither played with the stuffed puppy nor kicked it away. She just ignored it. She also ignored Angel. It was the one thing that could make him feel even worse.   
  
Despite how he felt, though, he couldn't just give in and buy Buffy a live puppy. It took a lot of thought but finally Angel came up with a solution he was sure was work. Everyone would be happy again or at least speaking to each other and he wouldn't need to get the puppy.   
  
He went back over to Buffy. "Look, you did something wrong last night when you didn't stay where I told you. You know that, right?" He waited until Buffy eventually nodded. "And you know you shouldn't have crossed that street alone. I understand why you did it but it was still wrong. I'm going to make you a deal now. If you can behave yourself all day, until it gets dark outside, and this means no whining or pouting or pestering any of us or bothering our clients, then you can have the puppy. If you can't behave that long, then no puppy."  
  
Buffy listened intently and nodded. She seemed confident.  
  
So was Angel. There was no way Buffy could behave perfectly for a full day. Absolutely no way. It was too much to ask of any child, especially her.  
  
As dusk approached that evening, Angel was forced to revise this opinion. Buffy had behaved like a model child. She had quietly watched television and played with her toys and done exactly as instructed with no exceptions.  
  
When it was clearly dark outside, she marched up to him. "Where's my puppy?"  
  
Angel looked at Cordelia for support. "Well, about that, there's a little problem."  
  
"You promised," Buffy reminded him.   
  
No support from Cordelia. She shrugged. "Buffy has a point, you know. And you trapped yourself this time."   
  
"Yeah, but who would have ever thought she could behave for so long? Her track record is horrible." Angel looked back at Buffy's expectant face. "I am so stupid. All right, let's go."  
  
Triumphantly Buffy ran to get her coat. All the way in the car on the way back to the pet store, she could talk of nothing else but the puppy. Resigned to his fate, Angel parked outside and led her into the store. The desired puppy was still part of the window display and the owner pulled it out for them.   
  
Of course they couldn't leave with just the puppy. No, they also needed a collar, a leash, food, a dog bed, a brush, boxes of treats, bones, dog shampoo, cleaning supplies a training booklet, a blanket, several varieties of toys, and a few other odds and ends. The extras cost almost as much as the overpriced dog did.   
  
After picking up what seemed like every dog supply in existence, Angel managed to get Buffy and the puppy back into the car and home. Back at the hotel, he got Buffy, the dog, and a box of newly bought junk inside and then watched as the puppy immediately squatted and peed in the lobby.  
  
Angel looked at Cordelia, who was watching while making no effort to help. "It was your decision," she reminded him.  
  
He looked at Buffy. She was playing tug of war with the puppy. That left him to clean up the mess and scatter newpaper all over the lobby floor. By the time he was done, Cordelia was talking to Buffy.  
  
"So have you thought of a name for the puppy?" she asked.  
  
"Yes," Buffy replied. "Lassie!"  
  
"But it's a male dog," Angel pointed out. "Lassie is a girl's name."  
  
"That's right, ANGEL," Cordelia emphasized. "And your point is?"  
  
"All right, fine," Angel gave in. "But I still say there are more appropriate choices. Hasn't she ever seen 101 Dalmatians? What about Lucky, or even Spot?"  
  
"Buffy, you watched Lassie on TV right?" Cordelia asked. "Why do you like her?"  
  
"Because she saves people," Buffy replied, trying to interest her puppy in chasing a ball.  
  
Cordelia turned back to Angel. "See? She has a good reason."  
  
He looked over at the puppy, which seemed to be playing nicely with Buffy. "I can live with the name, but I have a feeling this dog is going to be nothing but trouble. Wait and see." 


End file.
